


Demon in the Kitchen

by seasalticecream32



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Chef Elyan, Cutthroat Kitchen AU, Demon Arthur, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 09:12:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6000313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasalticecream32/pseuds/seasalticecream32
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elyan is competing on Cutthroat Kitchen on their Valentine Special. The theme is broken hearts, and he's feeling all kinds of broken-hearted in his dessert round. Especially when he gets Arthur Pendragon--literal demon from hell--tied to him as a sabotage. Things only get worse from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Demon in the Kitchen

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to do my research but I've never made a mousse before and if you have then you probably know I have never made one before based on this.
> 
> If you have any prompts for me, or just want to talk about Arthur/Elyan, my tumblr is captainmerlin32. :D Thank you and have a great day!

**Demons in the Kitchen**

_**Prompt:**_ _Going through a divorce AU + Arthur/Elyan. + “_ _That is the tenth demon summoning this week holy shit.”_ _\+ Cutthroat Kitchen AU._

Arthur popped into the kitchen. It was strewn over with flame covered broken hearts and a large sign that declared a “Valentine's Special” with the word Valentine striked out. Arthur rolled his eyes. Alton was so over the top.

It smelled like sulfur here. Which wasn't surprising. It _always_ smelled like sulfur when Arthur showed up. The smell gave a bad first impression, which was sort of the point, but Arthur hated it.

“This is the tenth demon summoning this week. Holy shit. Give me a break.” Arthur grumbled at the grinning man in front of him. “Look, I'm not a Genie, you can't just rub a lamp and expect me to come grant a bunch of wishes for you. You do realize you're selling me your soul, right?”

A chef directly in front of him blinked a few times. “You what?”

Arthur glared. “What the hell have I been summoned here for? Dammit Alton, what do you want?”

“Did you know that handfasting is a neo-pagan type of wedding ceremony in which two people are tied at the hand? Well, now you do.” Alton snickered. “For just a bit of money, you can have this demon follow around your cook and antagonize him for the rest of the challenge, tied with _this_ silk sash. Do I have a starting one thousand dollars?” Alton waved a lace edged silk sash around, the evil gleam in his eye brighter than usual.

“I'll bid 2000.” shouted a curly haired Irish woman, her blue eyes burning into his. Arthur cringed. He'd met Morgana before, but those were different circumstances. He was glad she was doing well. Apparently.

He thought he was worth more than two thousand dollars. He crossed his arms. “I don't appreciated being used for sport, Alton.”

Alton waved him off. “You agreed. I've got the contract to prove it.”

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“I'll give 3000.” A man on the right said, frowning. His gray chef's tunic was tight in all the right places. Arthur's mouth went dry. He winked at the chef, who gaped, scandalized.

He was a demon. He was allowed to appreciate if he wanted.

“I like that one,” Arthur grinned. “What's your name, guy on the right?”

The chef rolled his eyes, his mouth twitching at the side. “Name's Elyan, nice to meet you.”

“4000,” Morgana shouted, arms crossed.

Elyan ground his teeth together, his jaw working as he considered. He waved his hand and Morgana grinned wide.

“Have fun with that one, Elyan. Arthur's a menace.” Morgana snickered and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, well, I'm still going to win, and I'll still have money left when I do,” Elyan shot back, but his face withered when he saw the silk sash simmer in Arthur's hand. “Why is it doing that?”

“Well, I am a demon. I do reside in Hell. It's pretty hot down there.” Arthur grinned and sauntered up to Elyan. “Makes me a pretty hot guy.”

Elyan rolled his eyes, but his mouth twitched again towards a smile. “I don't know, I tend to like my guys a little cooler.”

“Ohoho, nice. So you do like guys then?” Arthur held Elyan's fingers in his as a Bob tied the sash around them. It was a surprisingly intimate moment in the middle of a kitchen. Elyan looked up, his mouth bopping in a nervous tic. “I'll have to see what to do to cool off.”

“Alright boys. Now if we're done flirting, we can get back to our sabotages,” Alton grinned. “And now, for our Valentine special, I want to remind you- you're going to be making a chocolate worthy of my valentine box.”

“Get to working now, Elyan.” Morgana cackled. “Hate to see Gwen's face if you lose.”

“Yeah right. You know she's rooting for you,” Elyan shouted back. He began to walk towards his prep station, but his arm jerked back when Arthur didn't move.

The silk scarf fell down, and a buzzer sounded off.

“Fined, $100,” Alton came around and tied the sash back on himself. “Every time your sash falls, I take one hundred dollars from your total.”

Elyan ground his teeth and glared at Arthur. “If you cost me any more money, you'll be paying it back to me.”

“That's only if you win.” Arthur grinned.

“I'm going to win.” Elyan yanked their arms up, and pulled Arthur along, hand in hand to the prep table. “You're going to help me. I'm turning you from a no to a yes. SHIT!”

Elyan let go of Arthur's hand, hissing as the skin beneath it bubbled. Arthur ran his free hand through his hair and sighed. “Well, I did tell you I was hot.”

“I thought you were flirting!” Elyan scowled and grabbed a large pot. “Let's go to the station. Now.”

Arthur shambled after him. Frowning. “Hey now, don't yank me around. I'm ruler over Hell, I demand a bit of respect.”

“Ruler?” Elyan quirked a brow, set up a big metal bowl over the top of the pot. He dumped a bag of chocolate inside. “Hand me cinnamon and the chili.”

“Spicy chocolate?” Arthur picked up the spices, handing them over to Elyan with a devilish grin on his face.

Elyan grabbed it without thinking with his free hand, the whisk held painfully between his pinky and ring finger. He shouted again and nearly dropped the cinnamon. The glass glowed red hot beneath his hand. “You are the worst, you know that?”

“So they say.” Arthur shrugged and leaned a hip against the prep station. “What else do you need me to do?”

“Chop up some cherries. I need them minced. I am going to create a mousse, but I need to be able to work the cherries in without breaking down the egg whites.” Elyan shimmied a mitt onto his free hand and then bit his lip. Arthur hummed, chuckling when Elyan turned sharply back towards him, yanking their sash around dangerously. “Wait, first we're going to take my bowl to the blast freezer.”

“Empty bowl?”

“Haven't you ever made a mousse before?” Elyan scowled. “The bowl has to be cold.”

“Right. No, didn't know that.”

“Whatever. Come on.” Elyan was practically running. Arthur had to jog to keep up. “Now, when we get back, you need to chop up the cherries. Understood?”

“Yeah, ok. You know I'm supposed to hinder you, right? Not help?” Arthur stuffed his free hand into his pocket as Elyan shoved his bowl into the freezer.

“Yeah, well, you're going to do what I say instead, yeah?” Elyan flashed a bright white smile. His brown eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief as he slammed the door shut. “Maybe I'll give you my number, give you some coolness lessons.”

“That is right about the lamest pick up I've ever heard.” Arthur snorted, but walked back in time with Elyan, without resisting. “So chopping cherries, yeah? Anything else?”

“Get them chopped, then we'll move them to the anti griddle to get them cooled off. Don't leave them on there too long!”

Elyan snatched the chocolate off the double boiler, stuck a pinky in and tasted it. He frowned. Stuck a different finger in and held it out. “I need more something. What is it?”

Arthur quirked a brow, but licked the chocolate off as quickly and non-sexually as a steaming demon could manage to lick chocolate off of someone. “Chili. Needs more chili. Not nearly spicy enough.”

“You're not just saying that because you're literally made of demon fire?” Elyan had already grabbed the chili and put another couple of shakes in, stirring it quickly and tasting it again. Arthur wondered if he'd offer to share again, but instead he only grinned and nodded. “No, that's good.”

Arthur grinned, grabbing cherries from the plastic container. “Nice. See, I know chocolate.”

“Yeah, yeah. You've gotta start chopping, man.” Elyan cracked eggs, sifting the whites through his fingers and into a glass bowl. “I'm about to need those.”

“Hello, chefs!” Alton's voice made Elyan stop midway to Arthur. He groaned, but Alton kept talking. “I bet you thought I was feeling generous, having left you alone for so long. No, I have another auction.”

Elyan glanced back to Morgana, who was grinning evilly. “This is going to be the worst,” he muttered. Arthur bit his lip to keep from laughing. Elyan rolled his eyes and jabbed his mitt hand towards the cherries.

Arthur kept chopping, eying Alton as he talked.

“If you win this auction, you can make your opponent have to stop and propose to their stations every time they move from one station to the next. They will have to do so, on bended knee, with _this_ ring.”

Alton opened up the compartment where he kept his auction items. Inside was a ring that could have fit over Elyan's bicept, and with a stone twice as big as his head. “I should mention that you will have to carry this ring with you even when you aren't proposing.”

Elyan glared at Arthur, as if this was somehow his fault. Arthur threw up his free hand, then continued cutting cherries.

“4000,” Morgana's voice rang out clearly.

Elyan glared. “4500.”

“5000.” Morgana didn't even look up from her blender.

“5500.” Elyan cast Morgana a desperate look and Arthur shook his head. Showing Morgana weakness was the absolute opposite of what anyone should do.

“You've already lost,” Arthur whispered. Elyan frowned.

“7000.” Morgana flashed Alton a grin.

Elyan stayed quiet, glaring at Morgana the whole time.

“Alright then. Chef Elyan, come grab your honey bun's ring. Hope you really love your station!” Alton grinned and held out the massive ring.

“You are the worst,” Elyan hissed at Morgana. She only cackled and began to shape her mixture.

Elyan made his way back and retied the sash, the ring hanging heavy and awkward on his wrist. He looked at the tiny, uneven bits of cherry at Arthur's cutting board. “Alright, well, we've got to go to the blast chiller right now, I've got to get these eggs whipped.”

“Right.” Arthur started to walk away, but then Elyan stopped him, a curious look on his face.

“How good is your balance?” Elyan pulled out a shallow pan and dumped a bit of sugar and salt in it. “Could you balance this in your hands?”

“Yeah, I could...” Arthur frowned, picking up the pan and holding it in the palm of his hand. The pan sizzled. “Are you going to use me as a stove?”

“Absolutely.” Elyan laughed, dumping the cherries carefully into the pan.

“AH!” Alton popped up behind them, making Elyan jump. “If he's going to be a station, you have to propose to him.”

Elyan's eyes went wide, his mouth falling open. “You're not serious?”

“Absolutely. Down on one knee, then.” Alton didn't bother to hide his glee, motioning down.

Elyan groaned and dropped to one knee. He did it so suddenly that he pulled the sash, and Arthur had to do some fancy maneuvers to keep from dumping cherries all over the ground.

“Ok, Demon powered stove, would you marry me and be my stove forever and ever?” Elyan fluttered his eyelashes and grinned prettily.

Arthur smirked. “I dunno, maybe. Depends on if you win or lose.”

“That's a terrible answer.” Elyan hopped up and rushed to the blast chiller, yanking the bowl out and running back to his prep station. He proposed again. Then, before he even was fully standing, he was whisking eggs and cream together, keeping his eyes on Arthur's cherries.

Everything went by pretty smoothly, until Elyan had to get Arthur to put the cherries on the anti griddle.

“Arthur, brattiest demon in all of hell, who is also my stove, would you please put the fucking cherries on the anti griddle?” Elyan's face was covered in sweat, his expression harried.

There wasn't much time left on the clock.

Arthur dumped the cherries directly on, nodding. “Ok, well, what else do you need me to do?”

Morgana cackled even louder beside them.

“I need you to get that chocolate stirred and re-liquified, like, now.” Elyan smoothed the cherries over the anti griddle, scrapped them back up, whisked them again, and then spilled them carefully into his chilled bowl with the stiff white peaks of his mousse.

He folded the cherries in, keeping his eyes on Arthur's hand as the demon moving the chocolate carefully around the bowl. Elyan cursed, smoothed the mousse—now a blushing pink rose color—into a heart shape, and pulled the bowl from Arthur's hand.

A buzzer sounded and Elyan cursed.

Dropped to his knee again. “Hey, Arthur, marry me, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Arthur waved him up and watched as Elyan poured the smooth chocolate over the top of the mousse on their wire racks. His chest thudded heavily in anticipation.

He actually hoped Elyan won.

This was new.

Alton was going to pay for this one, for sure.

Arthur was led away by a Bob.

The judge came out. It was Merlin, the cursed man, and Arthur scowled. Merlin waved at him, smirk cutting across his face and fingers taunting him. “Nice to see we have a guest.”

“He really likes it here, now that you're not a contestant.”

Merlin threw back his head and let out a laugh. “Well, let's hope he did his partner better than he did me.”

Elyan grumbled something, but Alton shot him a glare.

Arthur waited impatiently as Merlin tried each chocolate, straining his ears to hear Merlin's criticism of each dish.

He raved over Morgana's date and nut candy, chewing with much theatrics and congratulating her on a great dish.

Merlin chewed Elyan's candy carefully, eyes closing delicately as the chocolate melted on his tongue. “This was amazing. The mousse is light and airy, the chocolate has a really nice kick to it that plays against the sweetness of the cherry really well. It's a truly amazing bite of candy. Bit small though.”

Elyan grinned wide—a bit too wide—and thanked Merlin, stepping back and wiping his forehead.

Merlin chatted with Alton under his breath, lanky form looming over them at the top of the stairs. Arthur glared, and Merlin caught his eye, laughing. “I'll take you out for a drink later, alright Arthur? Make up for bad times.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it, my chef needs to find out they won.”

“Yeah, well, congratulations Chef Morgana, you've beat out your competitor. Sorry, Elyan. Your flavors were complex but not quite developed enough, and Morgana's date and nut chocolate candy was the perfect combination of chewy and caramelly and sweet. Both dishes were delicious but Morgana's won out. Better luck next time, Chef Elyan.”

Elyan nodded, stepping away, thanked Merlin again, and headed out the dooor. If Arthur hadn't been staring at Elyan's every move, he might have missed the subtle wave in his direction.

Arthur disappeared in a poof of sulfuric smoke, and appeared again in the waiting room.

“I want a divorce, ok?” Arthur held up his hand as Elyan started to protest, confusion written across his face. “I'd really, really like to date you.”

“Do they let demons date people in hell?” Elyan grinned. “Besides, you cost me the win! What kind of basis is that for a date?”

“A great one, since I helped you.” Arthur gave a smug grin. He could already feel Elyan's heart beat thudding through the room. A great perk to being a demon was that it was incredibly easy to read people.

“Well, what about the whole burning thing? Like, can we even kiss? Are you going to blister my lips?”

Arthur leaned in, placing his lips—cool, smooth, careful—against Elyan's. The kiss was nice, sweet and simple. Not burning.

“How's that?”

“That is going to have to happen again.”

“Better propose better next time then.” Arthur winked, and disappeared again.

He could hear Elyan cursing him all the way down in his hell-throne.


End file.
